Objective

Students will use phonetic and structural analysis and knowledge of words to expand their vocabulary.

Activities

Write the letters and point values on the board before the students arrive.

Give the students a couple of minutes to create the highest scoring word out of the letters of the day.Remind them that if they use all 7 letters, they score a Scrabble “bingo” and get a 50 point bonus.

Ask the students to volunteer the words they have created and list those words on the board with their point values. Make sure to point out homophones, homonyms, prefixes, suffixes, word roots and words with more than one definition.

Today’s highest scoring word is CAPTAIN with a point value of 61 points.If no one in the class identifies the word, then take a few minutes. To introduce the word by discussing its (1) spelling (2) pronunciation, (3) definition, (4) part of speech and (5) use in a sentence.

·CAPTAINcommander of a body of troops; officer in charge of a ship; high-ranked commissioned officer in the armed forces; a leader

Here are some other words that can be derived from today’s set of letters.

·CAPITAper person

·CATNAPa short snooze

·CATNIPa minty aroma that cats love

·PATINAa green film formed on copper or bronze

·PINATAdecorative container filled with candy and gifts that is broken as part of a Latin American celebration

·ANTICa playful act

Ask students to reflect on the strategies they used to create their highest scoring word.